JoCo Supervisors vote to increase minimum wage to $10.40/hour
Lang
4/6/19
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors has voted to increase the county’s recommended minimum wage by 13 cents to $10.40 per hour, effective Monday, July 1st. The Board of Supervisors used Consumer Price Index data to set the increase, which is based on inflation.
Though the wage increase is symbolic in nature and unenforceable under state law, the Supervisors approved the increase to remain in line with their vote in September 2015 to begin phased increases.
On Sept. 10, 2015, the Johnson County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance (#09-10-15-01) establishing a Johnson County minimum wage. According to that ordinance, the minimum wage in Johnson County was raised in three steps – to $8.20 per hour on Nov. 1, 2015, to $9.15 per hour on May 1, 2016, and to $10.10 per hour on Jan. 1, 2017.
On March 30, 2017, Governor Terry Branstad signed legislation eliminating the ability of jurisdictions within the State of Iowa to set a minimum wage above the state minimum wage. Johnson County had a higher minimum wage than the State for 17 months, including three months when it was $10.10 per hour.
In December 2017, the Minimum Wage Advisory Committee, which was composed of members of the public and residents of Johnson County, presented the findings of the report, “Jobs and wages in Johnson County before and after the minimum wage increase,” at a Board of Supervisors’ Informal Meeting. The Committee found that the minimum wage increase did not appear to hurt businesses, which was a suggested possible negative consequence.
The Board of Supervisors has created a multi-year, multi-step process to increase the base wage rate for all County employees, including part-time, seasonal and temporary employees, and interns. The base wage was set at $14 an hour for Fiscal Year 2019, which began July 1, 2018, and will increase to $15 an hour in Fiscal Year 2020, which begins July 1, 2019.
More information on the minimum wage ordinance is available at www.johnson-county.com/wage.
